ADVISORY/San Diego Children's Safety Day Aimed at Preventing Unintentional Injuries.

News, Calendar & Business Editors

ADVISORY... for Friday (May 12)

--(BUSINESS WIRE)

Prevention of unintentional childhood injury is the theme of a May 12, 2000 Children's Safety Day being sponsored by the American Plastics Council (APC) and the San Diego SAFE Kids Coalition. The event will take place from 12:30pm - 4:00pm at St. Stephen's Church, 5825 Imperial Ave., San Diego.

Representatives of the SAFE KIDS Coalition and APC will be providing information about how children's safety devices, most notably those made of plastic, have helped reduce by 46 percent the death rate from unintentional injury among children ages 14 and under in the past two decades. SAFE KIDS representatives and the San Diego Police Department will be offering to the public free child/infant safety seat inspections to ensure proper installation.

The event will begin at 12:30 pm with the dedication and installation of a new plastic playground set made entirely from recycled plastic. In addition, St. Stephens students will receive a new bicycle helmet for participating in an essay contest that asked them to write about "Why it is important to wear a bicycle helmet." The playground equipment and the bicycle helmets were donated by APC.

St. Stephens Pastor Bishop McKinney, San Diego City Councilman George Stevens and state and local legislators have been invited to speak at the dedication ceremony at 12:30 pm.

The event is part of a joint APC/SAFE Kids effort to raise public consciousness and promote a better understanding and awareness of how plastic safety devices/equipment (i.e. car seats, bike helmets, knee and elbow pads, playground equipment) help protect children from injury.

APC is a national trade association of the U.S. plastics industry working to ensure that plastics are a preferred material by demonstrating that they are a responsible choice in a more environmentally conscious world.

The SAFE Kids Coalition is the first and only national organization dedicated solely to the prevention of unintentional childhood injury -- the number one killer of children ages 14 and under.

                  FACTS ABOUT PLASTIC SAFETY DEVICES

      --  Protective polystyrene and fiberglass bicycle helmets have
        contributed to a decline in the death rate from
        bicycle-traffic related injury by 60 percent among children in
        the past 18 years.

      --  Revolutions in plastic material, sensor technology, and
        battery size have transformed smoke alarms from expensive
        metal plug-in devices to those that cost as little at $10. The
        death rate from residential fire-related injury declined 55
        percent among children 14 and under in the past two decades.

      --  Bulky metal-framed car seats of the 1950's and 1960's have
        given way to molded plastic frames and nylon harnesses durable
        enough to meet crash test standards. The death rate from motor
        vehicle occupant-related injury declined 10 percent among
        children ages 14 and under from 1979 to 1997, despite an
        increase in vehicle miles traveled.